Canada election campaign might start next week

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Declaring the Canadian Parliament to be
at an impasse, Prime Minister Stephen Harper signaled on
Tuesday that he could trigger an election campaign as early as
next week.

"There are increasing indications it will not be possible
to have a fruitful session of Parliament because of the impasse
between ourselves and the opposition on a number of files,
particularly on key economic issues," Harper said.

"The country must have a government that can function
during a time of economic uncertainty, and if it's not this
government or this Parliament, the public will have an
opportunity to decide whom," he said.

Harper's office had previously said he wanted to reach a
decision before Parliament's scheduled September 15 return from
its summer recess. But the prime minister said on Tuesday he
was now considering doing this before by-elections scheduled
for September 8 to fill three vacant seats in the House of
Commons.

The Conservative leader, speaking after a news conference
on development of the Arctic, said he would have to judge
whether it was appropriate to have people in those electoral
districts vote twice within just a few weeks.

Harper's minority government was elected in January 2006
and opinion polls show it is neck and neck with the main
opposition Liberal Party, led by Stephane Dion.

One recent opinion poll put the Conservatives five points
ahead of the Liberals, while another put them one point behind.

Another minority government is seen as the likely result of
a fresh vote.

Harper recognized that current opinion polls "aren't
particularly wonderful" for the Conservatives but said it was
his responsibility to decide whether Parliament's fall session
had a chance of being productive.

In 2006, Harper pushed through legislation that set October
19, 2009 as a fixed election date, but he said that since the
opposition has no intention of letting him serve until then,
the government needed to create some certainty by calling an
election sooner.